U.S. patent number 11,118,713 [Application Number 16/064,591] was granted by the patent office on 2021-09-14 for connector comprising assembly aid and method for producing said connector.
This patent grant is currently assigned to TI AUTOMOTIVE (FULDABRUCK) GMBH. The grantee listed for this patent is TI AUTOMOTIVE (FULDABRUCK) GMBH. Invention is credited to Iris Barthel, Kay Bube, Andre Hackel, Harald Knobloch, Michael Weissing.
United States Patent |
11,118,713 |
Barthel , et al. |
September 14, 2021 |
Connector comprising assembly aid and method for producing said
connector
Abstract
A connector includes a connection part formed with two
connection ends, an assembly aid and an encapsulation. The inner
channel of the connection part connects the connection ends to each
other for the purpose of the passage of a fluid medium. The
connection part has a middle section between the connection ends,
and the assembly aid is arranged at least in a partial region of
the middle section on the outside of the connection part. A heating
means is arranged on the assembly aid, and the encapsulation covers
at least a portion of the heating means. Further, the assembly aid
is arranged on the connection part by means of force-fitting.
Inventors: |
Barthel; Iris (Schauenburg,
DE), Bube; Kay (Schenklengsfeld, DE),
Hackel; Andre (Waldeck, DE), Weissing; Michael
(Heidelberg, DE), Knobloch; Harald (Heidelberg,
DE) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
TI AUTOMOTIVE (FULDABRUCK) GMBH |
Fuldabruck |
N/A |
DE |
|
|
Assignee: |
TI AUTOMOTIVE (FULDABRUCK) GMBH
(Fuldabruck, DE)
|
Family
ID: |
1000005802508 |
Appl.
No.: |
16/064,591 |
Filed: |
December 14, 2016 |
PCT
Filed: |
December 14, 2016 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/EP2016/080977 |
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: |
June 21, 2018 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO2017/108530 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
June 29, 2017 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20190003630 A1 |
Jan 3, 2019 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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|
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Dec 23, 2015 [EP] |
|
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15202567 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F16L
53/38 (20180101); H05B 3/58 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F16L
53/38 (20180101); H05B 3/58 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;285/41,285.1,286.1,286.2 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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20 2014 105908 |
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Jan 2015 |
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DE |
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Primary Examiner: Dunwoody; Aaron M
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Dickinson Wright PLLC
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A quick connector for a fluid medium of a motor vehicle, wherein
the connector has a connection part, an assembly aid and an
encapsulation, wherein the connection part comprises two connection
ends, wherein an inner channel connects the connection ends with
each other for a passage of the fluid medium, wherein the
connection part has a middle section between the connection ends,
wherein the assembly aid is arranged at least in a partial area of
the middle section on an outside of the connection part, wherein a
heating means is guided on the assembly aid, wherein the
encapsulation covers at least a portion of the heating means, and
wherein the assembly aid is arranged by means of force-fitting on
the connection part, characterized in that the assembly aid
comprises a rubber-like elastic material such that the assembly aid
is stretchable by hand in an axial direction or a radial
direction.
2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the assembly aid
forms a material bonding with the encapsulation at least in a
partial area.
3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the assembly aid
comprises a thermoplastic elastomer.
4. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the encapsulation
consists of a thermoplastic elastomer.
5. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connection part
consists of a thermoplastic material.
6. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the melting
temperature TMM of the assembly aid material is lower than the
melting temperature TMA of the connection part material.
7. The connector according to claim 1, wherein on the connection
part the assembly aid is under a radially oriented tension.
8. The connector according to claim 1, wherein an inner surface of
the assembly aid facing the connection part is constant over at
least one continuous quarter of the axial length of the assembly
aid.
9. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the assembly aid has
at least one elevation with two opposite flanks that is solid.
10. A method for producing a connector, wherein the connector
comprises a connection part, an assembly aid and an encapsulation,
wherein the connection part has two connection ends, wherein an
inner channel connects the connection ends with each other for a
passage of the fluid medium, wherein the connection part has a
middle section between the connection ends, wherein the assembly
aid is arranged at least in a partial area of the middle section on
the outside of the connection part, wherein a heating means is
arranged on the assembly aid, wherein the encapsulation covers at
least a portion of the heating means, wherein the assembly aid is
injection molded around the connection part, and wherein the
assembly aid shrinks after molding to form a force-fit between the
assembly aid and the connection part, characterized in that the
assembly aid comprises a rubber-like elastic material such that the
assembly aid is stretchable by hand in an axial direction or a
radial direction.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein a temperature of the assembly
aid material during the injection molding of the assembly aid is
lower than the melting temperature TMA of the connection part
material.
12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the connection part
is an injection part and the assembly aid is arranged on the
connection part by multi-component injection molding.
13. The method according to claim 10, wherein the assembly aid
shrinks in the radial direction by 0.1 to 20% during cooling.
14. The method according to claim 10, wherein the encapsulation is
injection molded at least around the heating means.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 371 national phase
application of International Application No. PCT/EP2016/080977,
filed on Dec. 14, 2016, which claims the priority of European
Patent Application No. 15202567.2, filed Dec. 23, 2015, the
contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their
entirety.
FIELD
The present disclosure relates to a connector, in particular, a
quick connector for fluid media of a motor vehicle and, in
particular for a urea solution. The present disclosure further
relates to a method for producing the connector.
BACKGROUND
It is proposed in EP 2 347 163 B1 that an assembly aid on a
connection part is to be latched or to be pushed. The assembly aid
is accordingly rigidly formed and is pushed either in an axial or
in a radial direction at the middle section of the connection part.
Subsequently then, for example, a heating wire can be helically
wound around the assembly aid. However, we have discovered the
following with this arrangement. A disadvantage here is that the
assembly aid needs an elaborately designed latching means to secure
the assembly aid reliably on the connection part. Likewise, it
requires a specially adjusted opposite latching means on the
connection part. However, the latching means represents potential
sources of error because they are relatively delicately formed and
are responsible for a certain part of the assembly for this reason.
In addition, we have found that errors can occur in an insufficient
latching-movement, so that no or only insufficient latching
connection is formed. Further, a heating wire or heating means in
the assembly aid may easily slip, which is also undesirable
because, for example, an uneven surface distribution of the heating
wire can occur.
SUMMARY
Therefore, the present disclosure provides a connector in which the
disadvantages described above can be avoided. In particular, the
present disclosure provides a modular system, in which the
connection part can be combined with several different types of
assembly aids. Preferably, the present disclosure is, based on the
technical problem, to ensure the best possible connection between
the connection part, assembly aid and heating means, in order to
reduce the waste or manufacturing costs.
To solve the technical problem that we have discovered, the present
disclosure teaches a connector, in particular, a quick connector,
for a fluid medium of a motor vehicle, in particular, for a urea
solution, wherein the connector has a connection part, an assembly
aid and an encapsulation, wherein the connection part comprises two
connection ends, wherein an inner channel connects the connection
ends with each other for the passage of a fluid medium, wherein the
connection part comprises a middle section between the connection
ends, wherein the assembly aid is arranged at least in a partial
area of the middle section on the outer side of the connection
part, wherein a heating means is arranged on the assembly aid,
wherein the encapsulation covers at least a portion of the heating
means, and wherein the assembly aid is arranged on the connection
part by means of force-fitting.
As fluid media, for example, windshield wiper water or urea
solutions can be considered. The term "urea solution" particularly
includes the products AdBlue.RTM. or Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF). As
a "connector", this part is preferably understood as something that
connects a pipe to another pipe or a pipe to a component.
"Components" are, for example, tanks, nozzles or pumps. The term
"quick connector" preferably means that at least one connection end
is formed as part of a releasable latching connection. A heating
means is preferably an electrical heating means. As an electric
heating means, for example, heating wires, heating foils, PTC- or
NTC-resistors come into consideration. Preferably, the electrical
heating means comprises at least one heating wire.
The term "force-fitting" preferably means that the assembly aid is
seated on the connection part in such a way that it is immovably
arranged on the connection part. Preferably, the assembly aid is
fastened on the connector by means of force-fitting. It is
preferred that the assembly aid is fastened mainly by means of
force-fitting on the connection part. The term "force-fitting"
includes, for example, shrinking pipes. It is particularly
advantageous that the assembly aid and the connection part are
formed in such a way that the assembly aid would not be fastened to
the connection part without force-fitting. The term "fastened"
means, in particular, that the assembly aid is arranged in the
axial and preferably also in the radial direction without free
play. The term "fastened" specifically means that the assembly aid
can be removed by hand from the connection part. Very particularly
preferably, the assembly aid is not arranged by means of a material
bonding to the connection part. Advantageously, the assembly aid is
not arranged by means of a latching connection to the connection
part. The term "latching connection" is preferably to be understood
as that rigid but resiliently formed latching elements undergoes
form-fitting due to resilient restoring action.
According to one preferred embodiment, the assembly aid is
rubber-like elastically formed. The term "rubber-like" means, in
particular, that the assembly aid can be stretched by hand in the
axial direction and/or radial direction. It is convenient that the
assembly aid consists of a softer material than the connection
part. According to a preferred embodiment, the assembly aid
comprises an elastomer, and preferably a thermoplastic elastomer.
Preferably, the assembly aid comprises an olefin-based
thermoplastic elastomer and/or a crosslinked olefin-based
thermoplastic elastomer and/or a urethane-based thermoplastic
elastomer, and/or a thermoplastic polyester elastomer and/or a
thermoplastic copolyester and/or styrene block copolymers and/or
thermoplastic copolyamides.
According to another preferred embodiment, the assembly aid is on
the connection part under a preferably radially oriented tension.
It is possible that the assembly aid is non-destructively removed
from the connector. Advantageously, at least along an axial length
section of the assembly aid is a full radial tension. The term
"full radial tension" means, in particular, that the tension acts
around the connection part along a full rotation of the assembly
aid. Preferably, the assembly aid stands under a full-scale radial
tension at least along the half of the axial length of the assembly
aid, and preferably along the full axial length of the assembly
aid. It is very particularly preferred that the tension is caused
by a shrinkage of the assembly aid. Preferably, the shrinkage is
generated around the connection part by molding the assembly aid
material, due to the cooling of the assembly aid material. Very
advantageously, the removed assembly aid is not pushed onto the
connector.
According to the first embodiment, the assembly aid is not pushed
onto the connection part, because due to a shrinkage of the inner
diameter of the assembly aid it is less than that of the outer
diameter of the connection part. According to another embodiment,
the assembly aid is not to be pushed onto the connection part,
because the force-fitting is so strong that the assembly aid would
be destroyed by pulling it off. Preferably, the assembly aid is, in
particular, not to be pushed in the axial direction. According to
another embodiment, the assembly aid is a rubber-like sleeve to be
pulled on the connection part, which sleeve preferably has an inner
diameter, which is less than the associated outer diameter of the
connection part.
It is within the scope of the present disclosure that the melting
temperature T.sub.MM of the assembly aid material is lower than the
melting temperature T.sub.MA of the connection part material.
Preferably, the melting temperature T.sub.MK of the encapsulating
material is lower than/equal to the melting temperature TMM of the
assembly aid material. According to a particularly preferred
embodiment, the melting temperature T.sub.MK of the encapsulating
material is equal to the melting temperature T.sub.MM of the
assembly aid material. According to another embodiment, the melting
temperature T.sub.MK of the encapsulation material is higher than
the melting temperature T.sub.MM of the assembly aid material.
It is advantageous that the cross section of the inner surface of
the assembly aid facing the connection part is constant over at
least one contiguous third, more preferably over at least one
contiguous half, and most preferably over the entire length of the
axial length of the assembly aid. Preferably, at least one partial
section, more preferably at least one third, even more preferably
at least half, and preferably the full length of the middle section
is cylindrically formed. It is preferable that the area of the
connection part covered by the assembly aid is cylindrically formed
throughout and, in particular, has a constant outer diameter.
It is convenient that the assembly aid has at least one elevation
with two flanks in an axial longitudinal section, which elevation
is formed solid. The elevation extends conveniently helically
around the connection part. The assembly aid advantageously
comprises at least one helical groove. Preferably, the assembly aid
comprises two helical grooves in the form of a double helix. The
helical groove preferably comprises one to twelve full rotations,
and more preferably two to eight full rotations. The assembly aid
conveniently has two projections formed in such a way that the
heating wire in the region of these projections is S-shaped.
Preferably, at least one projection is part of a helical elevation.
It is preferred that at least one projection is arranged at one end
of the assembly aid.
It is within the scope of the present disclosure that the assembly
aid has a material bonding with the encapsulation at least in a
partial area. It is possible, that the assembly aid has been fully
liquefied by molding with the encapsulation material and has a
corresponding material bonding with the encapsulation material.
Preferably, the assembly aid is connected to the encapsulation in
one piece. It is preferred that the assembly aid is connected to
the encapsulation with material bonding. Preferably, the
encapsulation shrinks upon cooling. It is advantageous that the
encapsulation exerts force-fitting to the assembly aid or on the
connection part. Conveniently, the encapsulation covers an
electrical heating means and also preferably electrical connection
conductors.
It is convenient that the encapsulation extends from the middle
section via a connection end to a pipe. Preferably, the pipe has an
inner fluid conduit and an outer sheath. The outer sheath is
preferably a corrugated pipe. Very particularly preferably, the
encapsulation encloses a radially outwardly protruding element of
the pipe and preferably a radially outwardly protruding element of
the outer sheath. The radially outwardly protruding element is
advantageously a rib. The encapsulation encloses the radially
outwardly protruding element conveniently form-fittingly or
form-fittingly- and force-fittingly. It is possible that at least a
portion of the assembly aid is arranged between the heating means
and the connection part. Conveniently, the heating means is
arranged on the outside of the assembly aid. According to a very
particularly preferred embodiment, the assembly aid and the
encapsulation enclose the heating means without a chamber. The term
"without a chamber" means artificially created cavities, which is
to be understood, in particular, as no air inclusions in the form
of bubbles. According to one embodiment, the encapsulation has at
least two partial shells. The two partial shells are preferably two
half-shells. The two partial shells can be connected via
corresponding latching means. Conveniently, the two partial shells
are connected with each other by a film hinge.
According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the encapsulation
comprises a thermoplastic material and, in particular, a
thermoplastic elastomer. Here, it is particularly preferred that
the material of the encapsulation corresponds to the material of
the assembly aid. Preferably, the encapsulation comprises an
olefin-based thermoplastic elastomer and/or an olefin-based
crosslinked thermoplastic elastomer and/or a urethane-based
thermoplastic elastomer, and/or a thermoplastic polyester elastomer
and/or a thermoplastic copolyester and/or styrene block copolymers
and/or thermoplastic copolyamides. It is advantageous that the
connection part consists of a thermoplastic material. Preferably,
the connection part comprises polyamide and/or polyphthalamide.
To solve the technical problem that we have discovered, the present
disclosure teaches a method for producing a connector, in
particular, a connector according to the present disclosure,
wherein the connector comprises a connection part, an assembly aid
and an encapsulation, wherein the connection part comprises two
connection ends, wherein an inner channel connects the connection
ends with each other for the passage of a fluid medium, wherein the
connection part has a middle section between the connection ends,
wherein the assembly aid is arranged at least in a partial area of
the middle section on the outer side of the connection part,
wherein a heating means is arranged on the assembly aid, wherein
the encapsulation covers at least a portion of the heating means,
wherein the assembly aid is sprayed around the connection part, and
wherein the assembly aid shrinks after molding, so that
force-fitting between the assembly aid and the connection part is
formed.
According to a preferred embodiment, the temperature of the
assembly aid material during the molding of the assembly aid is
lower than the melting temperature TMA of the connection part
material. Preferably, the temperature of the heated assembly aid
material is such that no material bonding takes place with the
connection part. It is within the scope of the present disclosure
that the assembly aid shrinks in the radial direction by 0.1 to
20%, preferably 0.2 to 10%, and particularly preferably by 0.5 to
5% when being cooled. Since the assembly aid sits on the connection
part, such shrinkage is usually difficult to see with the naked
eye. However, the assembly aid preferably has a correspondingly
strong tension.
According to a preferred embodiment, the encapsulation is at least
sprayed around the heating means. Preferably, the encapsulation
covers a large portion of the middle section. Preferably, the
temperature of the heated encapsulating material during the molding
of the encapsulation is lower than the melting temperature T.sub.MA
of the connection part material. It is advantageous that the
temperature of the heated encapsulating material during the molding
of the encapsulation is higher than or equal to the melting
temperature T.sub.MM of the assembly aid material. It is
particularly preferred that the encapsulation material forms a
material bonding with the assembly aid material during molding. It
is particularly advantageous if the encapsulation material shrinks
upon cooling after molding, that force-fitting on the assembly aid
or on the connection part is formed. According to a particularly
preferred embodiment, the encapsulation encloses the heating means
in a form-fitting manner. It is preferred that the encapsulation
encloses the heating means force-fittingly. It is within the scope
of the present disclosure that the connection part is a
spray-molded part and the assembly aid is arranged on the
connection part by means of multi-component spray molding.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the following, the present disclosure will be explained in more
detail with reference to only one embodiment illustrated in the
drawings. In a schematic representation, it shows:
FIG. 1 a perspective view of the connector according to the present
disclosure without heating means and encapsulation; and
FIG. 2 a longitudinal section through the connector of FIG. 1 after
wrapping with a heating wire and after molding of the
encapsulation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Now, a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure will be
described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The sizes,
materials, and other specific numerical values in the following
description of the embodiment are simply by way of examples for
ease of understanding of the present disclosure and should not be
construed to limit the present disclosure unless otherwise
specified. Note that in the description and the drawings,
components having substantially the same functions and
configurations are designated by the same reference characters, so
that their description is not repeated, while components not
directly relevant to the present disclosure are not shown.
In FIG. 1, a quick connector according to the present disclosure,
comprising a connection part 1 as well as an assembly aid 2 is
shown. The connection part 1 comprises two connection ends 4, 5,
wherein the left connection end 4 is so formed that there an
unillustrated pipe is inserted. The pipe is fastened to the
connection end 4, for example, by means of laser beam welding.
Between the connection ends 4 and 5, there is a cylindrically
formed middle section 7 of the connection part 1 (see. FIG. 2). The
connection end 5 is a female plug part and formed accordingly to
accommodate a male plug part, which is also not shown. The male
plug part has a ring-shaped elevation on the outer side, which
allows a snap in interaction with a latching element 13 of the
connection end 5. The male plug part is, for example, an element of
a fluid component (tank, pump, nozzle, or the like) or a part of
another pipe.
The connection part 1 is produced by means of spray-molding and
preferably consists of polyamide. The assembly aid 2 is
spray-molded around the connection part 1 by means of
multi-component spray-molding and consists of a thermoplastic
elastomer. Here, the temperature of the liquid assembly aid
material during molding is lower than the melting temperature
T.sub.MA of the connection part material. In this way, a material
bonding between the assembly aid material and the connection part
material is prevented. After molding, the assembly aid material
cools down, so that the assembly aid 2 undergoes a shrinkage by 2
to 3%. Due to the firmly formed connection part 1, this shrinkage
is not manifested in a reduction in the size of the assembly aid 2,
but in that, the assembly aid 2 is exposed to a fully
circumferentially radially oriented tension along the entire length
of the assembly aid 2. This tension causes the force-fitting of the
assembly aid 2 on the connection part 1 in association with the
high friction coefficient of the thermoplastic elastomer of the
assembly aid 2.
By force-fitting, the assembly aid 2 is fastened on the connection
part 1, so that then the prefabricated connector can be connected
to the pipe. The pipe has two heating wires double-helically wound
around the outer skin of the pipe, the ends of which protrude a
little way over the pipe end. The protruding heating wire is then
wound around the projections 11 of the assembly aid 2, so that the
heating wire 8 is s-shaped in this area. In the embodiment shown in
FIG. 1, the assembly aid 2 has two areas, each with two projections
11, since there are two heating wires around the pipe.
After the heating wires are placed in an s-shape around the
projections 11, they are led along two helical grooves 10, which
are formed by two helical elevations 9 of the assembly aid 2. The
result of the helical winding with the heating wire 8 or the
heating wires 8 can be seen in FIG. 2. By means of a projecting end
12 of a helical elevation 9, the heating wire 8 is deflected and
led back along the second helical groove 10 in the direction of the
pipe or connection conductor. The heating wire 8 and the heating
wires 8, in particular, heat an inner channel 6, in order to
prevent the freezing of a urea solution in this way. The electrical
connection conductors for the heating wires 8 are not shown, but in
FIG. 2.
After arranging the heating wire 8 or the heating wires 8 on the
connector together with electrical connection, the encapsulation 3
is sprayed around the aggregate of the connection part 1, the
assembly aid 2, the heating wires 8 and an inner fluid conduit of
the pipe shown in FIG. 2 with dash-dot lines. The encapsulation 3
consists of the same material as the assembly aid 2, i.e., a
thermoplastic elastomer. The temperature of the heated and liquid
thermoplastic elastomer is lower than the melting temperature
T.sub.MA of the connection part 1, so that the softening of the
surface of the connection part 1 is not expected.
By molding, the encapsulation 3 encloses the internal components in
a form-fitting manner and provides a good protection, in
particular, for the heating wire 8 or the heating wires 8. The
temperature of the liquid encapsulation-material during molding is
so selected that at the same time the assembly aid 2 is heated to
partial or complete liquefaction. As a result, the assembly aid 2
and the encapsulation 3 enter into a material bonding. The material
bonding is shown schematically in FIG. 2 by the tips of the
projections 11 or helical elevations 9 without completion. But, the
material bonding can also extend to the bottoms of the helical
grooves 10 particularly. This ensures that the heating wire 8 or
the heating wires 8 are very tightly enclosed by the thermoplastic
elastomer and are also protected appropriately well from the effect
of moisture. Moreover, the encapsulation 3 also undergoes a
shrinkage, whereby force-fitting is applied to the internal
components. As a result, the fluid density increases. In addition,
the force-fitting is conducive to the stability of the entire
connector, and in particular, for the fixation of the heating wire
8 or heating wires 8.
* * * * *